Starting Over
by SlytherinPrincess1503
Summary: Steve realizes that the only way is to start over and accept his mistakes One-Shot


The tension around the conference room was something that could be cut with a knife. The Avengers were all looking silently from their respective sits as their newest teammate yelled at their captain heatedly.

"Rogers, I had it under control!"- the voice of the black haired woman was filled with frustration and anger, her fists were uncomfortably tight and Bruce wonder briefly how she could keep her powers reeled in when her emotions were so high.

The first avengers looked tense, more than usual, but he didn't let his emotions show as easily as the woman across from him; Instead he stood on the other side of the room, his arms crossed as he watched her yell at him angrily.

"I'm so sick of you not taking me seriously"- Anna was suddenly hit with a wave of tiredness and pain; For a second the emotions blinded her, her vision clouding at the edges and she found herself being forced to take a sit. This usually happened when she held in her powers for too long, it always made her feel sick and weak.

Around the room everyone exchanged a look, knowing exactly what was going on with the youngest avenger. Tony Stark decided to take matters into his hands since he was sitting the closest to her.

"It's okay kid, I think he got it. Why don't you take it easy?" his voice made her look up. Initially she hadn't been taken with the idea of being part of a team of superheroes, but after SHIELD left her with no other choice she found herself living and spending most of her time with them, surprisingly enough for everyone, the infamous Iron Man was the first person she had truly opened up to, after that, they became as close as they could be. Anna found herself looking at his tired brown eyes and suddenly felt guilty, they were probably as tired as she felt and here she was extending their briefing just because she felt like yelling to Steve.

She sighed, and stood up again, this time instead of turning to a still standing Steve she turned towards the doors. She exchanged looks with the rest of her teammates as she exit the room, mumbling about a hot shower and a nap, but as she reached the doorway Steve spoke up for the first time- "I was just trying to help you, I didn't think-" Anna turned around, her eyes piercing Captain's blue ones.

"Thanks to you I almost died back there,"- she didn't even register how everyone wince at her words- "Do me a favor and just don't help me" she turned away and this time she didn't look back.

Steve stood there watching her walk away, guilt washing over him as he noticed her limp. He had messed up again, and this time it resulted in more serious consequences.

"Rogers you can't keep doing this" Natasha was the first one to speak up as soon as the other woman was out of earshot- "Not only did you comprise the whole operation you also almost got her kill" Steve closed his eyes, leaning against the cold wall as he let the words sink, he almost did the complete opposite of what he had intended to do. How was that even possible?

"I was trying to keep her safe" he heard himself mumble, his voice sounded tired and rough even to him. Suddenly he felt something hard collide with his chest making him jump and open his eyes.

Across the room stood Tony Stark, his arm was drawn back as if he had just thrown something- "Get your head out of your ass, she's more than capable of taking care of herself" he sounded beyond annoyed, everyone was and no one could blame them, since the Anna had arrived Steve had managed to get to her bad side far too many times; They all knew that he felt something towards her but instead of approaching her like a normal person Captain America had decided to take the job of making sure that no harm came to her, something she didn't need. The girl was tough, even the less observant person could come to that conclusion which was exactly why it bother her how Steve seemed to underestimate her.

"You have to stop treating her differently,"- Bruce stood up, his whole body screaming for a cold shower and a long rest- "She's an avenger Steve, don't do something you won't do for any of us" that was the last thing he said before he exit the room after awkwardly smiling.

"Bruce is right, you wouldn't had done something like that for any of us,"- Clint Barton spoke as he kept his eyes on his phone, his fingers quickly typing out a text- "Because it was stupid and dangerous" Stark nodded along with him, already chewing on something he had taken out of his pocket.

"You're letting your emotions cloud your judgement" Black Widow watched as Steve sighed defeated, he shook his head, knowing that every word was true, there was no way to deny it.

"Do as a favor and tell her how you feel before you end up killing us all" Tony said before he pop another blue berry on his mouth.

They were all right, he couldn't keep doing this.

The next morning Steve was making his way back from his morning run when he crossed paths with Anna in the kitchen. Her back was turned to him but thanks to having her long black hair up he could see the bruises already covering the side of her body.

"Morning" he said quietly, the rest of the tower seemed to be sleeping and the last thing he wanted was to wake any of them up, after their last mission they all needed their rest.

He had decided last night, after a lot of thinking, that the only way he could ever make peace with Anna was apologizing and telling her exactly how he felt. He wondered briefly how he should start the conversation, how he should approach her. He felt like a fool already and he was sure he would dig himself into a deeper hole.

The woman nodded her head but didn't reply. Steve debated for a few seconds to weather leave and try later or stay and apologize. She turned around a cup of coffee between her hands as she shot him a questioning glance; The first avenger felt a surge of confidence as he watch her lean into the counter, and decided that it was now or never.

"I want to apologize Anna,"-he took a few steps towards her- "I didn't mean to offend you, I was just trying to look out for you, we're teammates and-" before he could continue she pushed herself off the counter, her eyes narrowing as she close the distance between them.

"We're a team yeah, and we look out for each other but,"- she poke his chest hard -"this is shit, I am not a baby" she glared defiantly at him, waiting to be challenged by the only person that seemed to doubt her ever since she was forced to join them. Instead he held her gaze, he stood there taking in everything on her face, making her feel awkward after a few minutes of silence.

She was used to him watching her without saying anything, but this was different, he wasn't just watching her, he seemed to be studying every inch of her face making her feel self conscious. She knew she looked like a mess, half her face was covered in bruises and cuts from yesterday.

"I was trying to look out for you" he seemed to find his voice when she finally broke eye contact, he sounded breathless, and anyone else would chalk it up to his recent run but he knew better, his heartbeat wasn't racing because of anything but the girl who was standing surprisingly close to him without yelling at him.

"I never asked you to look out for me" it was her quiet reply, she still couldn't look back at him. His blue eyes were far too intense and she felt like his gaze held something she couldn't understand.

"You didn't have to,"- his reply surprised her enough to make her look back up, her self consciousness forgotten- "I'm truly sorry" he told her as he traced a bruise on her chin. Last night he hadn't realized just how much of a beaten she had taken because of him.

"I'm an idiot, but I've never thought less of you"- his fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as he kept softly tracing her wounds up her cheek- "I know you're strong, stronger than me even"- as he kept talking he failed to realize how hard it was becoming for Anna to concentrate on his words, she felt like the air wouldn't enter her lungs, her heart was wild and she wonder if it sounded loud enough for him to hear- "But every time we go out there I fear that I might lose you, and I'm not sure I can live without you" a strong and unknown heat was filling her veins, she never felt anything like what she felt this moment, not even when she let her powers take over her.

"W-what?" her brain was having trouble understanding his words, nothing like this had ever happened to her. She was used to getting into his face, having him close as she yelled at him, but his touch was something that had never happened before, they never shared such a innocent yet intimate moment before; His words and tone was something that she would've never picture coming from him, he was showing emotions she had never seen on his face before. The whole situation seemed unreal to her, and for a brief moment she wonder if she was dreaming.

"I like you An, a lot, and I'm an idiot who doesn't deserve you"- his blue eyes shined with honesty and tenderness- "Can we start over?"

She opened her mouth but no words would come out, she didn't think any could. What was she supposed to say? And what was worse she couldn't concentrate with his fingers still caressing the side of her face. She felt herself lean into his touch as they held gazes, and she slowly nodded her head, she didn't even noticed when she started to lean into him, her eyes briefly inspecting his lips before she connected their gazes again.

They were so close, and finally she understood all the mixed emotions she felt for him since the day she met him, everything suddenly made sense. They were breaths away from each other, their bodies impossibly close to each other.

"You're right"- a new voice startle both of the from their trance, making them jump away from each other, Anna spilling half of her coffee all over the floor- "You are an idiot" Tony said as he passed them with his Iron Man mug on his hand, a small smirk playing on his lips.

* * *

I'm not even sure what this is, I just know that I should be studying for a mid-term and instead I wrote this.


End file.
